The
Chen Mao School of Art began in Beijing, China as a private
school that taught many styles of oil painting, watercolor
and ink drawings to gifted children and adults.

Chu Yen Lo, one of China's famous artists opened the
Chen Mao School of Art in 1955, naming it for his
brother-in-law, whom he greatly admired for his drawing and
teaching ability. Chen Mao initially contributed to the
funding needed to open Chu's, Chen Mao School of Art.

Although Chen Maodid not paint in oil or watercolor, he was
a master of the pen and ink technique. Chu Yen Lo developed the
techniques of heavily textured oil paint and the use of
horse hair for depth, teaching these signature techniques to
his students for the next seven years.

Out growing the small space in Beijing, Chu Yen Lo moved
the school to a larger space in Hong Kong. Chen Mao, not
wishing to move, returned
to teaching at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
Chu Yen Lo hired three very talented former graduates in
Hong Kong with plans of catering to tourists.
All students were instructed to signed their work with the school's name "Chen Mao" and began using
the Chinese character (in red paint) for the Chen Mao School
of Art in the mid-1970s.

With slow sales, Chu Yen Lo shipped over 300 of the
studentís completed oil paintings to United States and Great Britain
to be sold through art dealers and galleries. To fund the
additional costs, all the artwork produced by
students were sold once completed, inspected and approved.

By the early 1980s, there were thousands of oil paintings in
the U.S. market. So many in fact that at-home-art-parties dominated the majority of sales. Prices plummeted.
Ready to retire, Chu Yen Lo sold the school to Zhang Yong.

As of October 2016, Chen
Mao is living in an assisted living and nursing facility,
the Jianghu Zhuangyuan (Generalís Garden), in Beijing.

The proper
way to write a Chinese personís name; last name then
first
name; so the name is really Mao Chen and Yen Lo Chu.

Notes: The Chen Mao School of Art
did not provide or authorize any
"Certificates of Authenticity" (COA) nor did they
when selling in bulk to art resellers in the USA and Europe. Any
claim of a COA is not
authentic because it is unknown which student painted which
painting.